LOS ANGELES — When Los Angeles Zoo veternarians diagnosed Randa the rhino with skin cancer, they realized they had a logistical problem on their hands.

There was no way to transport a 4,000-pound Indian rhino to a traditional lead shielded room for radiation treatment, so the vets worked with UCLA Medical Center oncologists and used a new treatment called electronic brachytherapy.

Veterinarian Leah Greer said today that Randa is recovering well.

Zoo staff sedated the animal inside her own enclosure and used the new technology, which is made by Xoft, Inc. and doesn’t use a radioactive isotope, to irradiate the Indian rhino.

The illness started with an infection. After veterinarians removed Randa’s trademark horn, she was later diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.

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